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tv   CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley  CBS  December 28, 2012 6:30pm-7:00pm EST

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>> glor: tonight, fiscal cliff hanger. >> the hour for immediate action is here. it is now. >> glor: president obama speaks to the nation after speaking with congressional leaders. reports from major garrett and nancy cordes. elaine quijano on the family heartbreak after russia's president bans all adoptions to americans. >> we ask president putin, please, can he set an alternate means but don't let me children suffer. >> glor: he met saddam hussein and made it look easy. david martin on the death of general norman schwarzkopf and what the world did not know about him. and "on the road" with steve hartman as a man tries to save his wife of 56 years.
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an unusual request that gets a surprising response. >> got two of them and i only need one. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> glor: good evening, scott is off tonight. i'm jeff glor. it is the end of a holiday week, but it would appear congress is just getting started. tonight, the president said he is mottestly optimistic about a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, which would mean avoiding automatic tax increases and spending cuts come, you know, 1. the president spoke to the nation this evening after an hour-long meeting with congressional leaders at the white house. democrat and republican leaders have agreed to extend jobless benefits and some tax increases. they appear to remain deadlocked on who exactly will pay those higher taxs. we have two reports tonight, beginning with major garrett at the white house. major, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, jeff. two things are clear tonight that were not clear this morning-- progress is real and if a deal is reached, it will be
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far smaller than any of the key players envisioned only a couple weeks ago. is this deal, if it's to be reached, will not the so-called grand bargain with trillions of dollars of deficit reduction. in fact, jeff, it's not even clear this deal-- again, if there is one-- would stop the across-the-board spending cuts for the defense department and other government programs. it looks like those cuts will go forward. what the president said today is 24 hours from now the senate leaders have to have a plan that deals with incom income taxes at a rate to be determined later, the threshold of that income, and some federal benefit and if they don't reach a deal, he will have his own plan b. >> if we don't see an agreement between the two leaders in the senate, i expect a bill to go on the floor, and i've asked senator reid to do this, put a bill on the floor that makes sure that taxes on middle class families don't go up, that unemployment insurance is still available for two million people, and that lays the groundwork then for additional
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deficit reduction and economic growth steps that we can take in the new year. but let's not miss this deadline. that's bare minimum that we should be able to get done. >> reporter: the president is pushing very hard, jeff, for that extension of unemployment benefits for americans who have been jobless for six months or more. they start losing that federal aid starting tomorrow morning. and it appears the president will get his way on that. the key sticking point now is at what level do higher income taxes apply? what income threshold. the president sat 250,000 per household. that was his campaign reelection promise. he's willing to go up a little bit higher. republicans are seeking something closer to $500,000. that's still to be negotiated in the next 24 hours. as i indicated earlier, it's vital to whether or not there is or is not going to be a deal. >> glor: major garrett at the white house. nancy cordes is following developments on capitol hill. nancy, what are you hearing tonight? >> reporter: well, jeff, the top democrat and crucially the top republican in the senate came back from that meeting with the president saying they think they can craft a deal very
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quickly, possibly within the next 24 hours. it was the first sign of bipartisanship we've seen on this issue in a couple of weeks, and it came just as many lawmakers up here were starting to give up. after returning from the white house, senate majority leader harry reid went to the senate floor to announce a potential breakthrough. >> the republican leader and i, and our staffs are working to see what we can come up with. we shouldn't take a long time to do that. >> reporter: for the first time, republican leader mitch mcconnell described himself as hopeful and optimistic. >> we had a good meeting down at the white house. we are engaged in discussions, the majority leader and myself and the white house, in the hopes that we can come forward as early as sunday and have a recommendation that i can make to my conference, and the majority leader can make to his conference. >> reporter: the progress came as members on both sides were growing doubtful congress could
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get anything done before the deadline. nebraska democrat ben kesselon: >> if we don't have a deal within the next 24 hours, the question is, where do you buy a parachute? it looks like we'd be going over the cliff. >> reporter: but leader reid had this warning about the shape of a deal to come. >> everybody, whatever we come up with is going to be imperfect and some people aren't going to like it. some people will like it less, but that's where we are. >> reporter: up until now, reid and mcconnell have kind of been sitting on the sidelines as the president and speaker boehner tried but failed to come up with a deal. and it's kind of fitting that they're swooping in now at the last minute. that's exactly what they did during the debt crisis last summer, and the legislation they came up with, jeff, contributed to the fiscal cliff that we're facing right now. >> glor: the president says this just keeps happening again and again. nancy cordes, thank you. income taxes won't be the only taxes going up, if there's no
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agreement. estate taxes paid by those who inherit property will also jump. here's john blackstone. >> reporter: jeff page owns 120-acre vineyard in california's napa vail vale but when his great-grandfather started farming here in the late 1800s, this was cattle country. >> both sides of the family came in before the turn of the century, and farmed orchard fruit and cattle. >> reporter: but much of the land she grew up on is gone, sold to pay estate taxes after his grandfather's death. had land back in the hills over there? >> yeah. >> reporter: had to sell it all. >> had to sell all of it? >> reporter: estate tax? >> yes. >> his grandfather died in 1972 when estate taxes were at an all-time high, 77%. >> it was a big tax bill. it was half a million dollars we sold off 150 acres, gave us something to pay the tax with. >> reporter: now, jeff and his wife mary worry their dream of
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passing the land on to their two daughters will be ruined by the fiscal cliff. the estate tax rate would rise from 35% to 55% on estates worth over $1 million. at today's prices in the the napa valley, the pages' land could easily be worth $8 million. >> you're wealthy, right, but it's all in the dirt. you know, we're dirt rich, cash poor. >> reporter: for the pages, more than money is at stake. they want the land that is part of their family's past to also be part of its future. john blackstone, cbs news, in the napa valley. >> glor: and that is not all. apart from the fiscal cliff debate, some other laws are due to expire january 1, and that could cost americans plenty. for starters, the payroll tax break will end. social security taxes will go from 4.2% back to 6.2%. if the farm bill is allowed to expire, it is feared milk prices could rise sharply.
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hundreds of american families are heartbroken tonight after russian president vladimir putin ban all adoption of russian children by americans. it is believed to be retaliation for a new u.s. law that targets human rights abuses in russia. in the past two decadees, more than 60,000 russian children have been given new homes inside the u.s. it elaine quijano met one family whose adoption is now on hold. >> look at this. look. >> reporter: two years ago kim and robert summers decided to adopt from russia. it took nearly 18 months, but last july, the couple was matched with a 15-month-old boy. when you saw his picture for the first time, what did you think? >> i knew that this was the child i was meant to parent. and i took one look at this little ginger boy, and i can follow in love with him. >> reporter: the summers began filling their new jersey home with baby clothees, a crib, and even a stroller. they traveled to his orgmag in
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russia twice to bond with him. >> say, hi, daddy. >> reporter: you've given him a name. >> ypreston mackey summers. he's a wonderful young boy who needs love and attention. it. >> reporter: like 1500 other american families, the summers worry that the law banning americans from adopting russian children could prevent them from bringing a child home. the law is widely seen as retaliation for a new american law banning russians accuse of human rights violations from entering the united states. the victims were hoping politics won't stop them from becoming parents. on your last trip there, that was the last thing you said to him? >> i said to him, "mommy and daddy will see you in four weeks and you're going to come home with us, and we're going to be a forever family." >> those dreams are sort of
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shattered. and i cannot put into words how my wife and i feel right now. and we ask president putin, please, consider alternate means but don't let these children suffer. please. that's all we ask. >> reporter: president putin says he signed the ban because he believes russians should take care of their own children. u.s. state department is urging russia to allow children like preston who have already met and bonded with their future parents to be allowed to join their american families. but, jeff, it's unclear whether that will happen. >> glor: heartbreak, elaine. thank you very much. president obama called general shopper an american original. schwarzkopf who command can the operation that drove iraqi forces out of kuwait in 1991 died yesterday at age 78. the cause of death was pneumonia, though david martin says he also suffered from alzheimer's in his later years. tonight a look back at an
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extraordinary life. >> reporter: stormin' norman schwarzkopf was a revelation, a charismatic combat commander who rose out of the ashes of his own and the country's disillusionment after vietnam. the nickname applied to both his fightin fighting and management style as he once told "60 minutes." >> i said, listen, i wear my heart squarely on my sleeve. if i don't like something, there's going to be no doubt in your mind they don't like it, and if i like something, there will be no doubt in your mind they like it. >> reporter: he routed saddam hussein's army, first with an air war for which he provided the soundtrack. >> the simple fact of the matter is now every time an iraqi airplane takes off the ground, it's running away. >> reporter: then with the ground war which sent saddam's troop spies mad retreat. >> as far as saddam hussein being a great military strategist, he is neither a strategist nor is he schooled in the operational art nor is he a
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tactician nor is he a general nor is he a soldier. other than that, he's a great military man. i want you to know that. ( laughter ). >> reporter: when schwarzkopf accepted the iraqi surrender and came home to a hero's welcome, no one could imagine it was only the first chapter of the war with iraq. he had made it look too easy, creating false expectations for the 2003 invasion of iraqi. by then, he was retired and sinking into the fog of alzheimer's. bibutt what he told "60 minutes" before that first gulf war remains true-- it all come comes down to the sergeants on the battlefield. >> late at night when i lie in bed and look at the ceiling and think about this whole awesome responsibility that's on my shoulders, i just remind myself that there's thousands and thousands of great leaders out there who even if i do screw it up, they'll sort it out and make it right. >> reporter: when stormin' norman was in command, both the generals and th generals and
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and the sergeants got it right. >> glor: we've been closely watching the terrible violence in chicago this year, and today a grim milestone. mayor rahm emanuel said there had been 500 homicides in chicago this year. that is up 17% from last year. the last time chicago had more than 500 homicides will was in 2008. help is available for millions who have lost their homes to foreclosure but few know about the program. and the f.b.i.'s secret files on marilyn monroe when the cbs evening news continues. [ male announcer ] feeling like a shadow of your former self?
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>> glor: more evidence today that home sales are rebounding. the number of contracts to buy homes is up nearly 10% from a year ago. some americans who wrongfully lost their home to foreclosure could be due some money, but bill whitaker reports they'll have to move fast. >> reporter: 74-year-old it porthee patten raised her seven children in this south los angeles house. >> i wanted to live and enjoy my home, and it was taken away. >> reporter: she was living alone after her husband died in 2007. she says that's when bank of america approached her with a new mortgage and a $110,000 home equity line of credit. she didn't understand her payments would jump $1200 a month. patton and her bank could not work up on the a lone
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modification. she lost her home to foreclosure. you feel you were cheated? >> i was cheated. i was cheated out of my home. >> reporter: patton is applying to the federal independent foreclose review program. the government ordered 14 big banks to take part in the program after it was discovered they improperly processed foreclosure paperwork, or made other misrepresentations about mortgage terms. harmed homeowners can be compensated up to $125,000. but critics, like new jersey senator robert menendez complain the bank controls the review process. >> who they choose areoften lawyers and consultants who have worked with the bank before, and so it's a little bit of the fox watching the chicken coop. >> reporter: the office of the comptroller, which oversees the program, told us independence has been a priority. >> this free program is monitored by federal bank regulators. >> reporter: other complained despite ads like this, few people even know about the program. only 10% of the 4.4 million eligible homeowners have
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enrolled. >> we'll give you instructions on what to do. >> reporter: west ang less community develop the corporation held one of nine workshops around the country this month, with people like dorothy patton, signed up. thras >> we know there are thousands more, hundreds of thousands more out there, note only in los angeles but certainly in california and around the country. >> i'm hoping and paying that it will help. there are so many of us out there. >> reporter: the deadline to sign up has been pushed back three times with the response so low, critics say it should be pushed back again. bill whitaker, cbs news, los angeles. >> glor: margaret thatcher and ronald reagan, once-secret documents reveal their uneasy alliance next. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection,
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>> glor: a spokesman says prd george h.w. bush is improving and is now even swing doctors and nurses at a houston hospital. mr. bush, who is 88, is in the intensive care unit with bronchitis and a high fever. president bush's predecessor ronald reagan once famously called margaret thatcher the best man in england. theirs was an enduring friendship but barry peterson reports on documents that reveal another side of their alliance. >> reporter: in front of cameras it was all smiles. >> britain and america will stand it side by side. >> reporter: but the documents
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released today by the british national archives reveal some tempestuous moments. after argentina invaded the falkland islands in the south atlantic ocean in 1982, prime minister thatcher launched a land and sea invasion to take them back, counting on president reagan for support telling him, "you are the only person who will understand." but mr. reagan hesitated, afraid that u.s. support would offend argentina's latin american allys. the relationship hit its lowest point during the falkland's war when president reagan kept urging the prime minister to negotiate a truce, a suggestion she flat plea rejected. 255 soldiers died before britain retook the islands. in time, the relationship warmed. she once signed a letter wishing the president, then a bit under the weather, a rapid recovery to full health and strength, "the world needs you." other documents reveal that mr. reagan's aides asked for
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fashion advice. what should the president wear for a horseback ride with the queen? the answer: nothing formal, more smart casual. and so a president, famous as a star of hollywood westerns, rode out looking like anything but an american cowboy. barry petersen, cbs news, london. >> glor: we also learned more today about the f.b.i.'s secret files on marilyn monroe. they reveal some of her friends were suspected communistes, and she once considered traveling to the soviet union. the f.b.i. kept files on her from 1955 until her death in 1962. how much will some people do for a stranger whose life is on the line? road" next. ra ght ragu for years. [ thinking ] wonder what other questionable choices i've made? i choose date number 2! whooo! [ sigh of relief ]
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align can help. only align has bifantis, a patented probiotic that naturally helps maintain your digestive balance. try align to help retain a balanced digestive system. try the #1 gastroenterologist recommended probiotic. align. >> glor: steve hartman now with a story of a plan going to extraordinary lengths to save his love "on the road." >> reporter: larry swilling and his wife, jimy sue, have been happily married 57 years, so happily, in fact, that larry has now come to realize the downside of loving someone so much you can't live without them. >> you know, i love her. >> reporter: you can't live without them. >> she's my heart.
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>> reporter: heart has never been an issue for these two. >> i know he loves me. >> reporter: what's always been lacking is a kidney. jimmie sue was born with only one, and now that one is shot. she needs a transplant, but neither her husband nor anyone test in her family as a suitable match. jimmie sue is on a donor list, but the wait is about two or three years long, and that's for a kidney from a deceased donor. transplant patients who get their kidneys from living donors tend to live longer. >> i'm going to get you a kidney. >> reporter: which is why larry decided to try a completely radical approach to securing a kidney. >> i don't care what people think. >> reporter: asking for it from total strangers. >> i sure could use your kidney. >> reporter: never mind that most people won't give panhandlers their pocket change, let alone their vital organs. a few months ago, larry, apt 77, started walking all over his home town of anderson, south carolina, and the surrounding towns, basically begging for a
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kidney. did you think you would get anybody? >> no. i guess not. >> reporter: then why do it? >> i'm trying. i had to do something. >> reporter: it was really just a way to not feel helpless, which is why he was as surprised as anyone when the phone rang. >> i'm willing to donate a kidney for your wife. >> reporter: rang repeatedly. >> would love to find out how to be tested. >> reporter: hundreds of people who either saw his sign or heard about it volunteered. >> i've got two of them, and i only need one. >> reporter: so far, there's been no match, but at this point, he's almost certainly recruit enough volunteers and raised enough awareness-- >> i'll take your kidney. >> reporter: ...to save someone, which is fine by his wife. >> if i get a kidney, fine. if i don't, i hope someone else does. >> reporter: that's not good enough for him. >> i know it. >> reporter: that's why larry is still looking, still appealing to the kindness of strangers for the love of his life. steve hartman, on the road, in
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anderson, south carolina. >> glor: that cbs evening news tonight. for scott pelley, just three days out from the fiscal cliff, and we've got a flurry of activity in the nation's capitol. let's get to danielle nottingham with details. >> reporter: top congress impressional leaders left the white house after a last-ditch fiscal cliff meeting with president obama. the closed-door meeting was an attempt to avoid the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts set to king at the start of the new year. >> we had a constructive meeting today. senator reid and senator mcconnell are discussing a potential agreement where we could get a bipartisan bill out. >> reporter: at the present time reminded lawmakers thers

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